James and Lily
by Auriela
Summary: Extreme AU: Shakespeare's infamous doomed lovers are transformed. Chapter 2: Pleasure and Pain, is now up.
1. Unlives Do Cry

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any characters from Harry Potter, I don't own any poems of e.e. cumming's, and nor do I own Romeo and Juliet. If I did, I'd either be so rich I wouldn't know what to do with myself, or dead and buried.

**A/N**: I'm back with another story, this one an AU Lily/James fic with the plot line following Shakespeare's famous play _Romeo and Juliet_. I'm not sure whether I'm going to continue it, it will depend how this first chapter is received. If I do continue it there will be many references to Baz Lurhmann's film Romeo +Juliet, hence the title **James + Lily**. Every chapter will begin with a quote from one of e.e. cumming's poems. I hope you enjoy it, and all comments are welcome, just press that little blue button and tell me what you thought.

this mind made war

being generous

this heart could dare )

unhearts can less

unminds must fear

because and why

what filth is here

unlives do cry

- e.e. cummings

Dumbledore looked out the window, deep in thought. The sky was bright blue, with white clouds dotting the sky. The sun shone brightly through the window, throwing a beam of bright light across the large desk in the centre of the room. Dumbledore sighed. The day would be perfect if there were not two large fires burning high and bright for all to see right in the heart of London.

There was a knock on the door and Dumbledore turned abruptly from the window.

'Come in.' His deep voice was commanding.

A house elf peered in through a crack in the door. 'Prince Dumbledore, sir, the Potters and the Evans' are here for you.'

'Very well, Bobbin,' Dumbledore said, sitting down heavily on his grand mahogany chair. 'Bring them in.'

Four men strode in. Two were young and handsome; two were old and stubborn. Dumbledore gazed at each of them equally as the two older men sat down in their respective chairs, while the younger men stood behind them, their hands firmly clasped behind their backs.

Dumbledore was silent for a while, watching his long fingers clasped together from beneath his half-moon spectacles.

'You all know why I have called you in today,' he began, watching each of the men carefully in turn. 'What happened in the heart of London today is unacceptable. Do you understand me? Unacceptable.' Dumbledore hardly raised his voice, but the four men understood the underlying anger and threat in his words. 'I know that the hatred your families share run deep. But this violence has got to stop. We cannot go on like this. Innocent lives are being destroyed because of your prejudices. Now is the time to forget, and forgive.'

The two young men glanced at each other, frowning deeply.

'Does anyone want to explain what was going on today?' Dumbledore asked, resting his hands on the table.

The young man on the left nodded. 'There was another brawl, sir.'

Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. 'I know that, Remus. Was it about anything I need to know? Or just another affray born of the same injustice?'

Remus looked at the other man, dislike etched onto every crease in his face.

'It is always about the same thing, sir,' the man on the right remarked.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. 'As I thought, Severus. I have spoken to both your families a number of times. Potter, Evans, this has gone on for far too long. Your mutual dislike has got to end. During this time especially…'

The older men shuffled uncomfortably in their seats.

'It is high time that you learnt to accept each other's differences. We cannot afford to go on like this – having our own civil war in the midst of something much greater and more evil than yourselves!'

Now all four men looked uncomfortable. Dumbledore's words struck home.

'Before I can let you go, you have to understand how serious this matter is. If there is another brawl, if another person is killed because of your family hatred, I will not make excuses for the law again. I will not hesitate in dealing out the penalty – death. Do I make myself clear?'

The four men looked at him silently. Dumbledore sighed deeply and waved the door open with his hand. As the men watched him, he stood abruptly and turned around to stare out of the window again, signalling that the conversation was over.

The four men walked out, each caught in their own thoughts. Remus closed the door quietly behind them and Dumbledore relaxed his tense shoulders, sighing and closing his eyes for a second. If only this pain and suffering could cease.

There was a loud bang, and Dumbledore's eyes flew open once more as a bright plume of smoke rose above London. He hoped with all his heart that it would come to an end soon.


	2. Pleasure and Pain

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter – I know it was pretty boring, just an introduction, really, but in this chapter you meet the beeyootiful, melodramatic James, and so maybe that will hook more people in. Hopefully. But onto the chapter: I know that in Shakespeare's play Juliet is supposed to be fourteen, but I always found that idea pretty gross, and so for the purposes of my story Lily is seventeen. Please review at the bottom, and enjoy!

pleasure and pain are merely surfaces

( one itself showing,itself hiding one )

life's only and true value neither is

love makes the little thickness of the coin

- e.e. cummings

Remus Lupin entered the car with Lord Tristan Potter at his side, looking very grave. Anne Potter was waiting for them; a tissue bundled up in her white hands. She looked anxious and ill.

Remus sat heavily down as Tristan grabbed one of Anne's hands, stroking it gently.

'Will it be all right?' she asked desperately, looking from her husband to her nephew. 'Is everything going to be all right?'

Tristan squeezed her hand tighter. It is Remus who answered her.

'Dumbledore says that if there is another brawl he will sentence all involved to death.'

Anne gasped and started to cry, rocking back and forth.

Remus looked down at his hands as Tristan attempted to comfort his hysterical wife. He couldn't help wondering whether either family would be preparing for a funeral within a week. Dumbledore's threat wouldn't stop the grudge between the Potters and Evans'. The hatred ran deep and had been going on for longer than anyone could remember. Wise words had been discussed at many meetings attempting to stem the violence, but nothing had worked.

Remus sighed heavily and put his head in his hands. When would this ever stop?

'I am just glad that James wasn't there today,' Anne choked out, hiccoughing. 'If he had…Merlin knows what might have happened!' She dissolved into panicked wails, clutching Tristan for support.

Tristan turned to Remus. 'Have you seen James today?'

Remus shrugged. 'This morning I thought I saw him at the Sycamore Grove Quidditch Pitch. You know how it's deserted at this time of year.'

'Well, he would like being alone.' Tristan shook his head sadly.

'What do you mean?'

Anne leaned forward, wiping away her tears. 'James…has not been himself recently. He shuts himself up in his room, closing the blinds so he is in darkness…He is not the James I know anymore.'

'Do you know why?'

The Potters glanced at each other.

'We do not,' Tristan admitted.

Remus had a fair idea why James had been so secretive recently, but he quickly decided that his friend's parents didn't need to know just yet. 'Would you like me to talk to him; try and knock some sense into his sunlight-deprived brain?'

The Potters looked grateful.

'That would be wonderful, Remus,' Anne said, grasping his hand and squeezing it tightly, only to look down and see Remus' blood from a cut across hand stain her skin. 'Remus! You're…'

The young man pulled his hand away. 'It's nothing.'

Anne took his hand back and pulled out a handkerchief, wrapping Remus' cut tightly and calling to the driver to take them to Sycamore Grove.

As the car edged towards the pitch, Remus could see James high in the air, flying around the pitch slowly. The car slid to a halt and Remus saw the figure descend slowly to the ground and then head off towards the other end of the pitch.

Remus opened the car door and smiled at the anxious adults. 'Don't worry, I'll find out what's wrong with him. Or be jinxed into oblivion.'

Anne managed a watery smile and Tristan pulled the car door shut. 'Good luck, Remus.'

Remus set off down the pitch. He could see a lone figure underneath a big beech tree, staring off into space. It was, without a doubt, his cousin James.

He flopped down on the grass next to that dark-haired man and sighed. 'Good morning, Prongs.'

It was James' turn to sigh. 'Is it still so early?'

'It's barely ten o'clock.'

'Sad hours seem long.' James shook his head dejectedly, and then looked up to watch the black car speed away.

'My father obviously wants to talk to me.'

Remus groaned from his position on the grass. 'Merlin, James, hark who's talking. He's not the only one who's been avoiding people.'

James stared at him. 'And what's that supposed to mean?'

Remus sat up. 'What's the matter, Prongs?'

James looked away, sighing dramatically. 'You wouldn't understand.'

'Oh wouldn't I.' When James didn't say anything, Remus prodded again. 'What melodramatic sadness lengthens your hours, Prongsie?'

James rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at Remus. 'Not having that which makes them short, Moony.'

'In English?'

'I told you you wouldn't understand.'

'Look, I get it. You're in love.'

James shook his head impatiently. 'No. I'm out-'

'Out of love?'

'Out of her favour where I am in love.'

'Again, Prongs, in English?'

'The girl I love doesn't return the affection.'

Remus laughed, jokingly punching James on the shoulder. 'Whoever thought that this big hunk of spunk would be easy for a girl to resist?'

But James wasn't listening. He had grabbed Remus' arm and was staring at Anne's handkerchief.

Remus snatched his hand away. 'I, er, cut myself…'

'You didn't do anything of the sort, Moony. What happened?'

Remus shrugged, not wanting to look at James in the eye. 'There was another brawl this morning.'

'Between who?'

'Snape and…me.'

'You have got to be kidding me.'

'It wasn't us at the start…it was started by these guys who are purebloods but then got too freaked out to continue with those hulking guys Snape has got, and so I got thrown into the mix.'

'Of course, Snivellus can't go anywhere without protection.' James' upper lip curled at the mention of his enemy. 'What happened?'

'A couple of cars crashed, some people got hurt-' James' eyes widened at this, '-but Dumbledore's Aurors got to us before anything could happen. And so then we had to go to his chambers and he's announced that if there's another brawl the penalty will be death.'

'Dumbledore's threatened stuff like that before, but nothing's ever come out of it.'

'This threat was serious. Trust me, James, he's angry and there's nothing anyone can do to change his mind.'

James sighed. 'So from now on no more trouble, right?'

Remus nodded. 'No more trouble.'

'Way to make my life even worse.'

Remus brightened up. 'Come on, tell me who it is.'

James rubbed his head. 'Well, it's a girl.'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'I think I had already gathered that. Who is she?'

James shrugged. 'Does it matter? The only thing you need to know is that she is beautiful, an angel, and that I love her with all my heart.'

Remus chuckled. 'Lucky girl.'

James scowled at him, and Remus backtracked, fast. 'Sorry, mate.'

James stared out moodily across the pitch. 'My life is over.'

'Okay, maybe you're taking this a little too hard…'

'I'm not, Moony, okay? She is the woman of my dreams. Nothing can change that.'

'You need to get out more.'

'You sound exactly like Sirius, you know that?'

'Maybe he's rubbing off on me.'

James laughed. 'Maybe you should take your own advice. It would do you a bit of good, you know.'

'Why thank you, Mr Change-Girlfriends-Every-Three-Minutes!'

'Not this time, Moony. Kate is the one.'

'Aha! Her name's Kate!'

'Oh, bugger it.'

'My life is complete now that I know her name.'

James just groaned.

'Come on, James, just look around you. There are plenty of other gorgeous girls. And they aren't so disturbed as to not fall desperately in love with this brooding yet handsome wizard.'

'Don't call Kate disturbed. And no one is more beautiful than her. To get me to transfer my affections is absurd, and impossible to boot.'

Remus raised his eyebrows. 'I bet you, James, that I will be able to find another beauty who will teach you to forget your disturbed Kate.'

_III_

'Lord Evans, sir, a man here to see you.'

Evans looked up from the pile of papers on his desk. 'Bring him in.'

He leaned back in his chair and watched as a tall, handsome young man walked into the room. He had dark hair and grey eyes and was smiling nervously.

'Lord Evans?' the young man asked, his voice deep and earnest. 'It is a pleasure to meet you.'

Evans stood to shake the young man's hand, and gestured for him to sit down.

'Amos Diggory.' Evans stared at him intently. 'Why are you here, may I ask?'

'I am here to ask of your daughter.'

'My daughter? What about her?'

'I believe I would make a suitable husband for the young lady, Lord Evans.'

Evans stared at the man, shocked. 'My dear boy, Lily is just seventeen! She has just finished her schooling! I hardly believe she is old enough to be married.'

Diggory shrugged carelessly as if the matter was of little importance. It irritated Evans. 'In these dark times, it is important to seize life while we can, to make the most of what little time we may have left.'

'If you are talking about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…'

'I am indeed, sir.'

'Although I happen to agree with you on the subject of Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Diggory,' Evans growled, 'I am afraid that your request for my daughter's hand is out of the question. I must refuse. I am sorry, but seventeen is simply too young. She has never known what love is, you understand, and I feel I would be doing her a great injustice in not letting her learn.'

Diggory looked crestfallen.

'However,' Lord Evans said slowly, reconsidering Diggory's social position, 'I do believe that you may be the man that she could fall in love with. You can woo her, and teach her the ways of love. If she loves you then I promise that her hand shall be yours.'

Diggory sighed contentedly. 'Thank you, Lord Evans, sir.'

Lord Evans waved away the thanks with his hand. 'Come to the party I am holding tomorrow night. It will be a party unlike any other; the party of the decade, I am promising. My daughter will be there, and you shall try to make her love you. But that is all I can do on the subject.'

Diggory nodded seriously, and with a wave of Lord Evans' wand, the doors at the end of the room opened. Diggory bowed to Lord Evans and then, with a slight smile, he left the room.

**Acknowledgements**: Thank you to the four reviewers who encouraged me to keep on writing: _The Gypsy-Pirate Queen Teetering on the Brink of Insanity Past the Point of No Return Man Life Sucks_ (God I love your name!); _embracing_; _popkornchicken_; and _Leigh A. Sumpter_. I'm glad you all enjoyed it, and please tell me what you thought of this chapter!


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